Budget Process and Information

The Town of Carolina Beach starts its budget process in December, and works methodically until its adoption in June. CLICK HERE to view the standard Budget Calendar.

In addition to the routine work involved in preparing a budget, the process at Carolina Beach makes a point of soliciting input and suggestions from employees, Department Heads, the Town Manager, Town Council, and of course, citizens.

The Council and Staff believe that a high level of involvement aids in establishing practical goals, addressing current community needs, and helps to foster a better understanding of the "big picture" in Carolina Beach-so needs can be identified, understood, and addressed in the most efficient and effective manner.

Financial TransparencyThe Town of Carolina Beach has partnered with ClearGov, a leading municipal transparency and benchmarking platform, to launch an infographic-based fiscal transparency center. The new easy-to-understand tool provides taxpayers an in-depth view into the finances of every department in the local government. The site also provides visual insights into the town’s demographics and housing trends.

Carolina Beach is the first town in North Carolina to leverage the ClearGov platform to increase transparency of the local government. The Town has added detailed revenues and expenditures breakdowns of its general fund budget, as well as utilities funds. The Town has also added commentary to many of the metrics and graphs on the site to help lend context to the figures for residents.

Carolina Beach is part of a growing movement of North Carolina municipalities that are taking transparency to a new level on ClearGov platform, which also showcases basic profiles of every municipality in the state utilizing data from the NC Department of the State Treasurer.